Associate of La Cosa Nostra Sentenced for Extortion-Related Charges

BOSTON – An associate of the Genovese La Cosa Nostra (LCN) crime family was sentenced today in federal court in Worcester on extortion-related charges.

Gerald Daniele, 53, of Longmeadow, Mass., was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Timothy S. Hillman to two years in prison and three years of supervised release.  In December 2017, Daniele pleaded guilty to one count of using extortionate means to collect an extension of credit.

Daniele and co-defendants Ralph Santaniello, John Calabrese, Francesco Depergola, and Richard Valentini were associates of the New York-based Genovese LCN crime family and engaged in various criminal activities in the Springfield, Mass., area including loansharking and extortion from legitimate and illegitimate businesses, such as illegal gambling businesses and the collection of unlawful debts. Daniele admitted that he used violence, exploited his relationship with LCN, and implied threats of physical violence to instill fear in his victims.

Daniele further admitted that during a six-month period in 2015, he extended two extortionate and usurious loans to an individual, and then, along with Santaniello and Calabrese, threatened the individual if he did not make payments on the loans.

Santaniello, Calabrese, and Depergola pleaded guilty to extortion-related crimes. Their sentencings are scheduled for March 20, April 2, and May 11, 2018, respectively. In December 2017, Valentini was convicted by a federal jury of extortion and conspiracy to commit extortion; his sentencing is also scheduled for May 11, 2018. 

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Acting Assistant Attorney General John P. Cronan of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; Hampden County District Attorney Anthony Gulluni; and Colonel Kerry A. Gilpin, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police, made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin O’Regan, Chief of Lelling’s Springfield Branch Office; Trial Attorney Marianne Shelvey of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section; and Assistant U.S. Attorney Katharine Wagner of Lelling’s Springfield Branch Office are prosecuting the case.